Michigan

Seth Buchsbaum believes in 'changing the system'

Seth Buchsbaum turns 18 on May 20, so he hasn't yet had the chance to vote. That hasn't kept him from being vocal about his beliefs.

"It seems like social justice is one of the best ways you can give back," Buchsbaum said. Although he's volunteered and campaigned for charitable causes and organizations, such as the YMCA, he said he's more interested in "changing the system."

"I think by changing the structure itself, you can make a lot more of a difference," he said.

To that end, Buchsbaum interned last summer for Michigan Peaceworks, an organization for nonviolence. He went on to found a Peaceworks club at Huron High School, where he is now a senior.

Buchsbaum "has a sense of his own power," says Phillis Engelbert, who was executive director of Michigan Peaceworks when Buchsbaum was an intern. "It's contagious. People like him make people do things they didn't think they could do." Engelbert nominated him for The News Young Citizen of the Year.

Besides his work for peace organizations, which included producing podcasts with his fellow Peaceworks interns and speaking at two peace rallies, Buchsbaum is an accomplished cellist and is organizing an unofficial ultimate Frisbee team at Huron.

He's also participated in the YMCA's Youth Volunteer Corps and is a human transport system for the kindergarten and first-grade students in his Jewish Cultural Society Sunday school class.

"The kids see him and they throw themselves at him," said Ramona Brand, principal of the JCS Sunday school. "You see these little urchins hanging off his knees."

Buchsbaum said he speaks to his students as if they're friends, which garners cooperation and good behavior.

"I see the ease with which he moves between children, his peers and older adults," Brand said. "He's a very poised young man. He has excellent communication skills."

For all of his involvement in social justice activities, Buchsbaum laughed when asked if he would be putting up "Buchsbaum for President" signs in the future. However, he allowed he's "not ruling out political involvement."

For now, he'll work on creating change closer to home.

"It's kind of unfortunate the lack of knowledge that youth have in terms of current events," he said. "So few people in my school know about what's been going on in the world recently."